Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer Try to Skip Meeting With Trump, That’s When He Does It

First, President Donald Trump savaged the two top Democrats in Congress on Twitter, then followed it up with mockery when they refused to meet with him in an effort to strike a deal to keep the government running.

“Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.

Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!

Trump’s tweet led Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California to decide they wouldn’t keep their planned meeting.

They said in a statement that “(g)iven that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.”

However, showing up a showman is easier said than done. When Trump met with the media following a session with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, he had two empty chairs to display, each boasting a nameplate of an absent Democrat leader.

“Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi did not show up for our meeting today. I’m not really that surprised. We have a lot of differences,” Trump said, later adding, “So they decided not to show up. They’ve been all talk and they’ve been no action. … Now it’s not even talk.”

“Well, we are very far apart because our views on crime and our views on immigration and the military — so many are different,” Trump said as he contrasted the Democrats’ positions with his.

“They’re weak on crime, they’re weak on illegal immigration. They want the illegal folks to come pouring into our border and a lot of problems are being caused, although we’ve stopped it to a large extent as much as you can without the wall, which we’re going to get.”

Trump was asked about the prospect of a government shutdown.

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“If that happens, I would absolutely blame the Democrats,” he said.

Trump pointed out that Democrats should be changing their tune in light of North Korea’s launch of another ballistic missile.

“So there’s a lot of big differences. So we’ll see what happens as to shutdown. We’ll see. But right now, things have changed over the last two hours, because two hours ago, a missile was launched. I think that will have a huge effect on Schumer and Pelosi — I think. We’ll see. We’re going to learn very soon,” he said.

Trump also said he will not wait by the phone for a call.

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“They should be calling immediately and saying, ‘We want to see you.’ But probably they won’t, because nothing to them is important other than raising taxes. That’s the only thing they like doing is raising taxes.”

Ryan and McConnell criticized the Democrats for ducking the White House meeting.

“We have important work to do, and Democratic leaders have continually found new excuses not to meet with the administration to discuss these issues,” they said in a joint statement.

“Democrats are putting government operations, particularly resources for our men and women on the battlefield, at great risk by pulling these antics. There is a meeting at the White House this afternoon, and if Democrats want to reach an agreement, they will be there,” the statement said.